Mar 16, 2010, 13:49 GMT
Britain's Prince William has gone skiing with Kate Middleton.
The royal - who had been encouraged by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, to avoid being spotted on luxury holidays during the recession - has flown out to join Kate, who is holidaying in the upmarket French resort of Courchevel with her parents Carole and Mike.
It had originally been reported that the 27-year-old prince would not join his girlfriend of seven years on her £8,000 ski break as he was too busy training as a RAF Search and Rescue pilot to take the time off, but it appears he has had a change of mind.
This time last year the second-in-line to the throne was less secretive about his holidaying, as he splashed out £40,000 on a trip to the same resort with Kate.
A source said: "William has booked a chalet which is out of this world. It's not the place they usually stay, but William has decided he wants to do something different."
William's father, Prince Charles - who had also been going to the resort for almost 40 years - was understood to have given up skiing because of a back condition and environmental concerns.
The source added: "Charles loves skiing but it's got increasingly difficult as he has got older and his back has got worse. He really worries that people will start criticising him for taking too many jollies and notching up a big carbon footprint."
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